Customers rushing to preorder the new iPad brought the Apple website to its knees on March 7 after the company opened ordering shortly after its San Francisco keynote. This pushed delivery times for the iPad to be pushed back to between 2-3 weeks, as Apple looked to ensure it had enough stock to fulfil orders in 10 launch countries.

However, after a hugely successful first weekend, the Cupertino-based technology giant has cut waiting times in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the UK.

It comes as no surprise that Apple will have come to terms with supplies of its new tablet, as it will open orders for another 24 countries on Friday, March 23. At 8am on that day, customers in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden will be able to purchase the new iPad in an Apple Store or authorised dealer.

Despite large queues and increased demand for the new iPad, Apple has been able to keep on top of supply in its retail stores. After it debuts the tablet in stores on March 23, we can expect waiting times to decrease after the initial rush dies down.